Summary

  • Birmingham - 2011 EFL Cup winners - crash out after making nine changes

  • Harrison nets headed double for Pompey on his home debut

  • Close volleys home classy strike for Portsmouth in between

  • Jude Bellingham, 16, usurps Trevor Francis as City's youngest ever player

  1. Postpublished at 45 mins

    Portsmouth 2-0 Birmingham

    A Birmingham attack breaks down as left-wing-back Steve Seddon runs out of room. Pompey are defending well so far.

    It appears there'll be a minimum of five minutes added on at the end of this very good half for the home side.

  2. YELLOW CARDpublished at 42 mins

    Portsmouth 2-0 Birmingham

    Birmingham's Agus Medina is booked for impeding Pompey striker Ellis Harrison just outside the area. There can be no complaints there from the visitors.

  3. goal

    GOAL: Portsmouth 2-0 Birminghampublished at 40 mins

    Ben Close

    Ben Close.Image source, Rex Features

    Wow, what a goal this is! Take a bow, Ben Close.

    As Ronan Curtis' initial shot is blocked, the ball falls kindly for 22-year-old midfielder Close around five yards outside the penalty area and he sends a perfect, bouncing volley straight in to the bottom left-hand corner.

    The League One side have doubled their lead...

  4. Postpublished at 37 mins

    Portsmouth 1-0 Birmingham

    Chris Wise
    BBC Radio 5 Live at Fratton Park

    ‘Wembley, Wembley’ chant the Portsmouth supporters after that goal.

    The summer is always such a great tonic for topping up the optimism levels.

  5. YELLOW CARDSpublished at 33 mins

    Portsmouth 1-0 Birmingham

    Portsmouth goalscorer Ellis Harrison and Birmingham debutant Geraldo Bajrami clash and things get a bit heated, off the ball... But the referee comes over, calms things down and books both players.

  6. Postpublished at 31 mins

    Portsmouth 1-0 Birmingham

    Straight up the other end, Birmingham's Craig Gardner forces a good save from the keeper with a fizzing long-range strike.

    It took half an hour, but that goal has finally sparked this game in to life.

  7. goal

    GOAL: Portsmouth 1-0 Birminghampublished at 30 mins

    Ellis Harrison

    Ellis Harrison scores.Image source, Rex Features

    The home side have the lead and it's a goal on his home debut for striker Ellis Harrison.

    His far post header on the rebound from a corner is headed out from behind the line by Birmingham defender Wes Harding, but the officials say the ball has crossed the line.

    Moments earlier, the hosts had struck the side-netting. They've deserved that, based on the little spell they had been building up.

  8. Hard work behind the scenes at Pompeypublished at 29 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Chris Wise
    BBC Radio 5 Live at Fratton Park

    There was a slight rush for Portsmouth to get everything ready for this game tonight.

    They made a successful request to the EFL back in the summer to have their first league match of the season away from Fratton Park so they could complete crucial maintenance work on the ground.

    But they ended up gaining a mere 72 hours extra when this game got switched to tonight. I’m told they were still completing the finishing touches to this creaky old ground this morning.

    Fratton Park.Image source, Rex Features
  9. Postpublished at 27 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Marcus Harness makes a good run through the middle for Pompey and has options to his left and his right, but opts to shoot and his effort is deflected wide.

    The home side are growing in confidence.

  10. Postpublished at 24 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Striker Ellis Harrison makes a good run down the left for Portsmouth but his cross is a little too deep and goes over everybody's heads in the middle.

  11. Postpublished at 23 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    The most recent time that these two sides met in a cup tie was in March 2010 for an FA Cup quarter-final, which Pompey won 2-0 thanks to a second-half brace from Frederic Piquionne.

    As for tonight, we're halfway through the first half now and neither goalkeeper has been tested yet. It's been a real midfield tussle for the most part.

    Portsmouth v Birmingham.Image source, Rex Features
  12. YELLOW CARDpublished at 20 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Birmingham defender Wes Harding gets the night's first booking for a sliding challenge on Ronan Curtis. Harding got his foot on the ball, but he follows through with studs and referee Neil Hair feels his tackle was out of control.

  13. Postpublished at 17 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    The West Midlands side are having a good spell, with Dan Crowley showing quick feet, and they have several bodies in the box, but Pompey keeper Craig MacGillivray gets up well to claim a high cross and the hosts will have time to compose themselves again.

  14. Postpublished at 15 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Debutant Jude Bellingham finds rooms for himself to shoot from the edge of the area and his strike deflects wide for a corner. The 16-year-old looks confident.

  15. Postpublished at 13 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    The visitors play some neat stuff up front for the first time tonight, with youngster Jude Bellingham combining well with number 10 Dan Crowley and midfielder Charlie Lakin, but the Portsmouth defence eventually snuff out the danger.

  16. Postpublished at 11 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Richard Wilford
    BBC WM commentator

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    Former Luton Town striker Isaac Vassell has been linked with a move to Cardiff City.

  17. Postpublished at 9 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    It's been a relatively quiet start to this game.

    Meanwhile, because of 16-year-old Jude Bellingham's record-breaking debut, one bit of team news that was overlooked earlier... Goalkeeper David Stockdale is making his first start for Birmingham since May 2018, having been overlooked by former boss Garry Monk entirely last term.

  18. Postpublished at 5 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    Portsmouth v Birmingham.Image source, Rex Features

    Portsmouth force the game's first corner, but the visitors eventually deal with it.

    In case you missed it, Pompey were beaten 1-0 at Shrewsbury in their league opener on Saturday, while Birmingham were 1-0 winners at Brentford.

  19. Postpublished at 2 mins

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    As they did on Saturday, Birmingham have started with three at the back, with two wing-backs. That's a notable change from the 4-4-2 formation they employed last season.

    In the stands, the Portsmouth fans are making plenty of noise early on.

  20. KICK-OFFpublished at 1 min

    Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham

    The much-changed Birmingham side get this tie going, playing in their dark grey away strip.